Handling a tenant eviction in Lansing, MI: Go myself or get a lawyer?

Question

Hi BP wise ones,

Things, unfortunately, have hit the skids with the tenants I rented my 3BR SFH to in Lansing, MI. On-time payments led to lay payments, to segmented payments, and now no rent paid in Dec. and Jan. The tenants are being non-responsive to calls and attempts to reach them at the property.

I live in Chicago and the independent property manager I've hired to watch over the place has made many attempts to get a hold of them. He called the court and served them seven days notice on 12/13/13. We'd hope this would bring them around, but I've yet to hear any report about it making a difference yet. A court date has been set for next Friday (1/17/14).

My question to you guys is whether you think it worth going to be there myself for the proceedings or hiring a lawyer? Lansing is 5.5 hours away and if it's cost prohibitive and I'd be better served by a lawyer, it'd make more sense to send one. How do those arrangements work in terms of cost/payment? Anyone have leads on a good lawyer in Lansing?

It's unfortunate given this is my first property, but I'm not discouraged. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

Joseph

Joseph Montes · Answer

Sam J.

this is a situation i've never been in before. i'm not certain to what length i should go. we're still working out the details. most advice i've read online, and as @Eric Belgau suggested, says leave the professional work to the professionals.

@Joe G., the main sign was their credit wasn't exceptional, but they made enough money to afford the place. sadly, they've actually taken very good care of it up until now, but i think they don't know how to manage money.

i'll be honest and say my mistake was that i wasn't enough hands-on with the tenant selection process and jumped too quickly. i'd hoped to have the place rented out by the end of july before i left for a vacation to costa rica. i didn't market effectively enough and that didn't happen.

my property manager found them while i was on vacation. i was hungry to start making money on this home i'd just sunk a significant portion of my savings into and they "seemed like good people." my property manager is taking responsibility for the bad experience, but it was ultimately my ok.

the lesson here is to do your due diligence in screening and be patient while you look for the right tenant. i'm losing more money now with them not paying than i would have had i waited for someone better. even worse, i'm going to have to kick someone out in the middle of an extremely harsh midwest winter, which i've read is a terrible time for finding new tenants.

Rob K. · Answer

In Michigan, you need to either be represented by yourself, or your lawyer. Your porperty manager can not represent you in court, unless he or she is also a lawyer. Evictions in Michigan are fairly straightforward. If you were local, I would recommend doing it yourself (unless there were weird circumstances involved). Since you're so far away, I would hire a lawyer.

Eric Belgau · Answer

It's generally better to leave professional work to professionals, so I would hire a lawyer even if the property were in your own back yard.  Given that it's a long drive away, you're probably much better off going that route.

However, your property manager should have a system in place to handle this.  They may have a staff member with the experience to appear, or they may retain a lawyer.  If they have counsel, that will probably be your cheapest option, since you will only have to pay for time.

If that isn't an option, different firms charge differently, and firms with a heavy real estate emphasis may streamline the process and reduce the payment.  (For example, some firms have single-cost "products" for actions in which they specialize, rather than charging hourly.)  Absent a referral from someone on the ground in Lansing, check Avvo.com (pretty good listings) or go directly to the local Bar Association.

Good luck!

Joseph Montes · Answer

thanks, Rob K.

@Joe G. i think the linking failed in my reply back to you (above).

Sam B. · Answer

Thanks @Joseph Montes for the info.  What Rob K. says make sense - I had thought the prop manager could represent in court.

Thanks for posting this Joseph, good luck and I really appreciate you sharing the lessons learned.  My time to experience this is coming at some point, this helps a lot.

Joseph Montes · Answer

Sam J.

Brian Bassett · Answer

With you being out of town it is a no brainer.  Get the lawyer!  If you try to handle it you will spend more time and money and you will burn yourself out emotionally .  Most landlord get out of the business due to burn out.  Good luck.

Joseph Montes · Answer

@Samson C. thanks for the suggestion. i'll reach out to you if i do have to go so far as removing them from the premises.

Samson C. · Answer

Hi @Joseph Montes,
	
	I am sorry to hear about that.

Just so you know I have a co-worker who is renting an apartment in Lansing. He wants to move from his apartment to a house.  Currently, he is actively looking for a house.  I am not sure if the timing will work out.  After you evict your current tenant, if you want, you can send me some basic info about your house and I can pass the info to my coworker.

Good luck!

Joseph Montes · Answer

@Joe G. maybe this one will work (see above).

Handling a tenant eviction in Lansing, MI: Go myself or get a lawyer?

Most Popular Reply